The second time

Hey it's me again.

Guess what. I went to the boot camp again today.

When I decided to go, my heart shouted: "What? Yesterday was not enough? I almost died. Do you want to kill me again?"

My mind shouted back: "What? You said you wanted to be a health coach. What kind of health coach you wanna be if you can't overcome these small obstacles?"

So I was there in the class. My only strategy was trying not to throw up afterward and staying alive.

Before going I had sipped some water as I did a little research on how not to throw up and it suggested that.

There were more people this time, 4 other girls and 1 boy, Hoa couldn't join this time. The teacher showed up at 7PM.

And then we did it, warm up running and sprint. I did good and reached second in the group.

Then Sit ups, Push ups, Sprints for 20 minutes. I hated the Sit ups thing, my lower back was weak and I had never come up to sitting position with my legs straight on the floor. My result was bad and I finished only 6 rounds while others did 8 or 9. Then I had to do 400 rope jump as a penalty.

Then pairing up, running for 2 rounds while the other person doing burpees, sit ups, push ups, rope jumping. I did bad again, 60 times in total compared with 100 or more from other people.

When I thought it was going to finish, the teacher told we needed to do other things: Plank, Squat, Crocodile, Boat for 1 minute each pose. And repeat again. That was not too difficult for me except for the Crocodile one. It was intolerable.

You know why I'm writing down all of this? I want to memorize and keep track of my progress.

The teacher told I did a good job, better than other people when they first joined that boot camp. (Well, I had 2 years of yoga with me sir).

Luckily it didn't rain this time. And I kept sipping the water during the workout, plus breathing deeply to my belly to calm my heartbeats.

And that was good. I finished achieving my goal: not feeling like throwing up, still smiling and talking with people, having a little chit chat with the teacher.

He's been doing this workout training for more than 10 years. It is a hobby and he is doing it for free. Besides he also does some professional training for athletes, and owning several companies. Well he is kind of a real badass, tough and straightforward, liking dirty jokes and showing off. Not polite and gentle and spiritual like my yoga teachers. But I appreciate his goodwill to teach for free. He is giving values to the community. That's good enough.

So to conclude, the second time at the boot camp was better. Now I have sore in my legs, I have sore in my bump, but I feel good in general. Tomorrow and Thursday I will be joining the yoga class and the presentation class, so I won't be able to witness what it's like to be more brutal, (as Hoa told me Thursday session would be the most intense). I'll keep you posted if I go there next week.

Techniques corner: How To Avoid Throwing Up When Exercising

• Drink at least 2 cups of water (400ml) 1 - 2 hours before working out.
• Drink 2 more cups before you start exercising.
• During your work out, drink 1/2 cup (100ml) for every minute you exercise. (I didn't drink water during yesterday workout and I felt really drained after that. My body craved for more and more water although I drank a lot when going home. It's said that if you don't drink enough water during workout, your cells will start to die).
• Never gulp water during exercise, take small sips.
• Have a light meal 2 hours before exercising (this would be good for people who have low blood sugar like me)
• Drink a power drink like Gatorade during your workout.
• Do not drink cold drinks or carbonated drinks before, during and after your workout.
• Do not close your eyes when exercising (it's to prevent motion sickness)
• Breathe slowly and consistently during the workout (breathe to your belly).

Ahhhh, you're good to go.